Green Arrow #25 is written by Benjamin Percy with art by Otto Schmidt. You can pickup your copy of Green Arrow #25 at Comixology now.
Synopsis
“BROKEN ARROW” part one! Hopelessly divided over Oliver’s role in the rise of Star City, Green Arrow and Black Canary do the unthinkable and break up. While Dinah starts a resistance movement in the former Seattle underground, Ollie’s been driven out of the city he sacrificed everything to protect. And that’s only the beginning! The next major phase of GREEN ARROW begins with in this oversized anniversary issue!
Review
Green Arrow has consistently been a go-to title for me in DC Rebirth. Much like The Flash it has really strong characters and equally strong stories. It also has an incredibly strong aesthetic which sets it apart from other series.
Over the course of Rebirth’s first year Oliver Queen has been through the wringer. Betrayals, deaths, bankruptcy and more betrayals have been a mainstay of each arc so far.
In Broken Arrow we find Ollie in police custody on charges of murder. Much like the title suggests he is a broken man. The opening panels paint his vibrant orange jumpsuit as surrounded by murky black surroundings with little detail as the world around him falls away. That’s just the beginning of a visual striking issue.
This issues art is from the incredibly talented Otto Schmidt. Schmidt flip flops with Juan Ferreyra on the series and both have been able to create a consistent look to the series. Though there are strong difference between the two there are visual cues which help maintain the consistency and both have their merits.
Otto Schmidt is by far my favourite artist working on Rebirth titles at the moment. His art strongly portrays the emotion of Green Arrow as well as its action. Details are sharp and background are emersive and or always emotive throughout.
Schmidt’s artwork also works in perfect harmony with the Benjamin Percy’s story. There’s a lot going on in this issue but everyone and everything has its moment.
Broken Arrow appears to be the culmination of all the Green Arrow arcs so far. The story of the Ninth Circle, Red Arrow, Black Canary and also the return of Merlyn are all touched upon.
There could easily become a point where the story is too convoluted. There’s a fine line between balancing an ensemble cast and losing them to a melee of action. Percy handles it all incredibly well in this issue and uses the extra pages to help push the story forwards.
There’s some resolution to the story of Ollie and Dinah – at least for the time being – which will sadden fans of the couple. But also all the puzzle pieces are moved in to position for the next great conflict.
There are a couple of great emotional punches to the story as well. The first when Emi tries to break Ollie out of custody and he refuses. Accepting defeat is a huge deal for Ollie and the emotion in his dialogue and on his face is apparent throughout.
I can’t touch on the second punch because it’s a huge spoiler. The end of Green Arrow #25 came a little out of left field but certainly sets up more emotional turmoil for Oliver.
If I had to have a gripe about this issue it does play a little close to the No Man’s Land story in Batman. The destruction of Seattle, currently renamed Star City, is a great backdrop for this story. However there’s no escaping how it mirrors the 1999 storyline which saw Gotham destroyed by an earthquake.
At one point a character even refers to the ruins of Star City as a No Man’s Land. I may be being over sensitive as the Batman story is one of my favourite of all time. But as fans of the Arrow TV series complain the character acts too much like The Dark Knight this may be a little too close to home.
Verdict
Green Arrow #25 is at the forefront of the DC Rebirth series which are really pushing the boundaries of character and action. Like the previous arc this issue is stuffed to the brim with both.
8/10
